Paper-folding machine



April 27 1926. 1,582,486

H. A. SELFRIDGE PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 27 1926. 1,582,486

H A. SELFRIDGE PAPER FOLDING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 15523 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. A. SELF'RIDGE PAPER FOLDING MACHINE April 27, 1926. y 1,582,486

Original Filed June 5, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 27 1926.

H. A. SELFRIDGE PAPER FOLDING MAGIINE original Filed June 5, 1192s 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lmllll Patented pn 27, 1926.

narran stares rai-Tsar ortica.

HARRISON A. SELFRDGE, HNEVJ HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE DURAFOPL-M COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATEON OF CONNECTICUT.

PAPER-FOLDING' MACHINE.

Application filed June 5, 1923, Serial No. 643,599. Renewed October 1, 1925.

T all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, HARRISON A. SELF` nmen, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful improvement in Paper-Folding Machines; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters Vof reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact-description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent l11' Fig. 1 a plan view of a paper folding machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 a front view of the same. Y

Fig. 3 a right-hand end view of the same.

Fig. l a left-hand end view of the same.

Fig. 5 a view in vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Y

Fig. 6 an enlarged, sectional view of the clamping-members and folding-slides.

Fig. 7 an enlarged, broken, sectional view on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3.

rlhe invention relates to improvements in paper folding machines, and particularly to machines for folding paper for use in connection Vwith pleating fabric and of a type similar to the machine shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 1,429,049, granted to me September 12,-1922. The machine of my prior patent was operated by hand, the operator being required to watch each fold, so as to know whether it should be up or down.

This machine, consequently, required con-v stant attention and special care that the folds should be made in the right direction.

The object of this invention is to provide a machine for folding kpaper for the purpose mentioned which shall 'be yautomatic in action, and the invention consists in the construction hereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

in carrying out my invention, I employ an upper clamping-member 10, vfixed atopposite ends to uprightsll forming' a part of a frame 12, and a lower movable-member 1 3 guided byv guide-studs 14 vextending down through the uprights 11. It will benoted that in this case the upper member is fined and the lower -niembe'r is movable, in tead of the reverse arrangement, as -in the previous patent.. The adjacent faces of these clamping-members are provided with faceplate-s 15, which are replaceable in case of breakage. The clamping-member is moved vertically by links 16 connected with levers 17 mounted on a tie-rod 18 and provided at its outer ends with rollers 19 engaging with cams 20 on a main-drive shaft 21, which is operated by a driving-pulley 22. Against the front face of the. upper clamping-meinber 10 isa top folding-slide 23, and against the front face of the lower guide is a corresponding folding-slide 24. These slides are connected together at their ends by couplingplates 25, and the outer faces of 'these plates have lugs 26, to the opposite sides of which operating pitmen 27 and 28 are pivot-ally connected, and formed at their lower ends with sockets 29 and 30, The pitmen differ in length for the purpose as will hereinafter appear. The main shaft is provided at each end vwith eccentrics 31 and 32, and on the. eccentrics 31 are collars 33 and on the eccentrcs 32 are corresponding collars Se, these collars being adapted to be moved into or out of the sockets 29 or 80 by a shifting-rod 35, which is provided with shifting-yokes 36 and 37, the arms 38 of which enter annular grooves 39 in the collars 33 and 34, so that the collars are moved from right to left, or vice versa, according to whether the foldingslides are to be moved up or down, but they are so arranged that they do not both engage at the same time.

Sliding on the shifting-rod is an arm 10, mounted.- upon two slides 41 and 42, reciprocating in a bracket 43V and in the right-hand end of the frame. For the purpose of yieldingly coupling the arm tothe shifting-rod 35, helical springs 44@ and 115 are arranged, one between one side of the rod andthe fixed collar 46, and the other between the opposite side of the rod and the right-hand yoke 36. The slides 11 and 42 are prcvided with inner, cani-engaging arm i? and outer engaging-arm 18, adapted to be respectively engaged byvoams 49 and 50 main-Shaft 21.

The cams -19 and 50 dete mine when the shifting of the collars shall take plaeo and henCe whether the fold is to be up or down.

To prevent the shifting from taking place except when the collars are in line with their respective sockets. l mount a collar on the rod 35, to be held by a lateh 5? tripped by a pin 58 on the driving-shaft 2l. It will be understood that the main-shaft 2l and shaft 52 are timed four to one, so that the shaft 2l makes four revolutions to eaeh turn of the cam-plate l, or one revolution for eaeh of the four eains mounted thereon.

The steek to be folded is fed between idler feed-rolls 5) and driven feed-rolls (SO on a shaft (3l, keyed to the outer end of which is a large ratchet-.vheel 62 engaged by a pawl G3 mounted in the upper end of a lever S-l carried by a gear 6.3 loosely mounted on the shaft 6l and meshing with an intermediate gear GG engaged by a longitudinallymovable raek GT Carrying a Cam-plate 63 to be engaged by rollers G9 carried in blocks 70 adjustably mounted in slots Tl in a feedplate 72 mounted on the shaft 52. The end of the shaft 52 has four keyways 73, while the disk 72 has a single key Ti adapted to engage with either one of the keyways '73 for the purpose of adjustment in the timing of the machine for eertain forms of folding.

As indicated in the drawings a machine arranged for knife pleating, that is7 to mane alternate up and down folds in the paper and, as shown, in the position where it has just Completed the up bend and is about to be shifted for the down fold, that is, the collars 3 are engaged with the sockets 30, while the eollars 3? are out of engagement with the sockets 2), and in this position the spring l5 has been placed under tension by one of the cams 50, and the pin 5S is about to trip the latch 5T to permit the spring-i3 to move the rod 35 to the right. lllhen the revolution of the shaft 2l has been completed, the latch is released and the eollar 3l is moved out of engagement with the socket 30 and at the same time the collars 33 are moved into engagement with the sockets 29.

The folding slides are then moved downward, as indicated in Fig. G, giving the strip of paper a downward fold. It will be understood that just prior to the downward movement of the slides, the lower clampingniember is moved upward, so as to clamp the strip between them, and when they retire, the elamping-members are separated to permit the paper to be fed between them by engagement of one of the rollers 69 with the cam 49. At the next quarter turn of the seam-disk, the operation will be repeated to shift back the nent cam on the opposite side of the plate, which will aet to move the slide to the left and compress the spring t5, which will exert a tendency to shift n the opposite direction and return the parts to the position shown in Fig. '7, ready for an up bend.

In ease the folds are to be made other than regularly up and down, this may be aecomplished by the arrangement of the Cams on the Cam-disk, as in box-pleating.

In ease it is desired to form a box-pleat between knife pleats, the key is withdrawn from one keyway and held in its retired position, so that the shaft 52 is not turned until the desired number of similar folds have been formed in the stripT when the key will be again inserted into the kewvay, to continue with the knife-pleading. The strip fed at each revolution of the main-shaft. the length of feed being determined by the position of the rollers (3) in the slots Tl.. It will thus be seen that for straight knifepleating and straight bo:\;-pleating. the machine may be set and will continue to malle the folds in the proper diret-tion until the strip is con'ipleted and with but slight attention to the time that it shall take place t0 shift from one style of pleating lo another in the same strip.

lt is obvious, without further illustration, that folding means other than the partienlar form of slides illustrated may be employed.

l claim:

l. A. folding maehine eomprisinjg lwo Clamping members hetwein whirl: the material to be folded is intermittently and automatically' fed; folding mean-' adiaeenl thereto consisting of lwo folding memters adapted to be auiomatieallf.' moved in opposite directions aeioss the path o the material to be foldedf and eouneetifnis beween the said clamping members and folding means for timing their eo-aelifm.

it paper folding machine, romprising Clamping-means. one of which is movable toward and away from the other. folding slides adapted to be moved beyond the meeting-faces of said clamping-nxembers, said slides eoupled together at opposite ends, t-wo pitmen at each end, eaeli provided with av socket, a driving-shaft, eollais on .said driving-shaft adapted to he moved in or ont of said Sockets, yoke-s eonneeted with said collars, ashifting-rod on which said volgesare mounted, and means, including :reamdisk7 for moving said shiftirg-rod.

A paper folding maehine, comprising elamping-means` one of which is movable loward and away from the other, foldingr Slides adapted to be moved beyond the. meeling-faees of said elaniping'members. said slides Coupled together at opposite end-t` two pitmen at eaeh end. eaeh previded with a socket. a driving-shaft, Collars on said driving-shaft adapted to be moved in or out ol said sockets, yokes Connected willi said eollars5 a shifting-rod, on which said yokes aie llfl mounted, an arm on said shifting-rod, a slide with which said arm is connected, and a cam-disk adapted to move said slide in opposite directions.

et. A paper folding machine, comprisingclamping-means, one o'l' which is movable toward and away from the other, folding;

lslides adapted to be moved beyond the meeting-faces ot said clamping-members, said slides coupled together at opposite ends, two pitmen at each end, each' provided with a socket, a driving-shaft, collars on said driving-shaft adapted to be moved in or out oit said sockets, yoles connected with .said collars, a. shitting-rod on which said yokes are mounted, an arm on said shifting-rod, a slide with which said arm is connecten, a cam-disk adapted to move said slide in opposite directions, and springs on said shitting-rod tendingl to move the yoltes in opposite directions.

5. A` paper folding` machine, comprising` clamping-means, one oi which is movable toward and away from the other, folding slides adapted to be moved beyond the meeting-faces of said clamping-members, said slides coupled together at opposite ends, two pitinen at each end, each provided with a socket, a driving-shaft, collars on said drivingsshalft adapted to be moved in or out o'l said sockets, yoles connected with said collars, a shifting-rod on which said yolres are mounted, an arm on said shifting-rod, a slide with which said arm is connected, a cam-dish adapted to move said slide in opposite directions, springs on said shiftingi'od tending to move the yoles in opposite directions, a latch to lock the shifting-rod against longitudinal movement, and means carried by said driving-shaft for tripping said latch.

G. A paper folding machine, comprising` a lixed clamping-member and a movable clamping-member, means for moving the movable-memben reed-rolls in line with said clamping-members, means for giving one t said feed-rolls a predetermined movement at predetermined times, including a s adapted to be moved up or down beyond the meeting-faces of said clamping-members, means, including a cam-disk, for moving,` d bending' slides, adriving-shaft, and means connected therewith for operating said slotted disk and cam-dish.

7. A paper Yfolding` machine, comprising a iixed clamping-member and a movable clamping-member, means for moving the movablemember, feed-rolls in line with said clamping-members, means for giving one of said feed-rolls a predetermined movement at predetermined times, including' a slotted disk with rollers adjustably mounted thereon, adapted to engage with cam through which the said eed-roll is turned, folding slides adapted to be moved up or down beyond the meeting-faces of said clamping members, means, including` a cam-disk, ytor moving said bending slides, a driving-shaft, and means connected therewith for operai;4 ingsaid slotted disk and cam-disk.,

8. A paper folding machine, comprising a lixed clamping-member and a movable clamping-member, means Jfor moving the movable member, feed-rolls in line with said clamping-members, means for giving one of said feed-rolls a predetermined movement at predetermined times, including a slotted disk with rollers mounted thereon, adapted to engage with a cam through which the said feed-roll is turned, folding slides adapted to be moved up or down beyond the meeting'- :taces of said clampi11g-members, a cam-disk shal't on which said slotted disk is mounted, means for adjusting the position of the disk on said cam-shaft, a cam-disk on said camshaft adapted to move said folding slides at predetermined times and in predetermined times and in predetermined directions, a driving-shaft and means' connected therewith for driving said cam-shaft.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification.

HARRISON A. (SELFRIDGE. 

